


101 Places to See

by iam93percentstardust



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Vignette
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-20
Updated: 2018-01-08
Packaged: 2018-12-31 20:22:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 1,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12140388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iam93percentstardust/pseuds/iam93percentstardust
Summary: Clara has a book, 101 Places to See. On their very first adventure, the Doctor promises to take her to all of them.





	1. 101 Places to See

“So, Clara Oswald, _101 Places to See_ , eh? Where would you like to start?”

Clara flipped the book open. “How about page 1?” she asked, holding the book up for the Doctor to see.

He groaned. “Oh, Clara, not- Everyone wants to go there! Can’t we do-?”

She shook her head. “You promised, Doctor. You promised me all the places in this book.

“Well- yes- but- really?”

Clara nodded firmly. “Really.”

Pouting, the Doctor finally said, “Fine.”

Buttons were pushed, dials spun, and above it all, the familiar wheezing of the TARDIS. When the TARDIS shuddered to a stop, Clara could hear cheerful music coming through the doors.

“Is it really?” Clara started to ask and then stopped.

The Doctor nodded, a big grin spreading across his face. “It is.” Throwing open the TARDIS door, he announced, “Clara Oswald, welcome to Disney World!”


	2. New York, New York

“New York, New York!” the Doctor sang as he held down a few levers.

Clara listened to the (off-key) singing as they traveled. Her mind spun. The Doctor had mentioned that they might have a few problems entering New York, something about how he’d broken the laws of time and might not be able to get there again.

“Either we’ll make it there or we’ll be sucked into the void!” he’d announced. “But don’t worry.”

She still wasn’t certain if he’d been serious about not worrying. It was hard to tell sometimes.

“Which part did you want to see?” the Doctor called over the general noise of the TARDIS.

Clara shrugged. She just wanted to go. She didn’t really care which part. “How about Times Square?” she suggested.

He made a face. “Tourist,” he retorted.

She grinned. She hadn’t really cared where they went but his reaction made it worth it. “You know it.”


	3. Washington D.C.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When this takes place, I was envisioning Obama still being President.

“It’s very… white,” Clara observed.

“It is at that,” the Doctor agreed.

“I wasn’t really expecting it,” she said in a rush. “You know when you see it on TV, it always looks so white but I always assumed that was something they did with the cameras.”

“Nope, it really is that white.”

The Doctor glanced down at Clara. She seemed almost confused by the White House and he wasn’t sure why. Her brow was furrowed in that cute little way that it did any time she was perplexed.

“…Do you want to meet him?” he finally asked.

“What?” Clara asked, startled. “Meet the President of the United States?”

“Sure. I’m his personal favorite, you know.”

“The personal favorite of the President?” Clara replied slowly. The Doctor shrugged. “Why not?"


	4. Paris, France

“Surely you’ve been before,” the Doctor commented.

“Of course,” Clara said, shrugging. “But I was five and in it’s in the book so you’re taking me again.”

“Are you going to do this every time?”

A broad grin spread across Clara’s face. “Yes,” she said firmly. “Now, I want dinner on top of the Eiffel Tower. Surely you can do that.”

Mock scoffing, the Doctor gasped, “Surely you don’t have such little faith in me as that.” The TARDIS shuddered to a stop. “I’ve already arranged it.” He threw open the door to reveal a setting sun over Paris and a candlelit dinner for two.

“Careful, Doctor,” Clara teased. “Getting a bit romantic, aren’t you?”

The Doctor floundered for words to say but Clara wasn’t paying attention. She skipped to the balcony and looked out over the view. “No foreign planet will ever beat this,” she murmured.


	5. Rome, Italy

“I didn’t think you really liked centurions,” the Doctor said.

“I don’t,” Clara replied. “They’re not really my type.”

“No,” the Doctor said quietly. “They’re more Amy’s.”

Clara looked at him curiously. She’d never heard him mention this Amy before. “Who’s Amy?”

He seemed startled, like he hadn’t meant to say that out loud. At first, he wasn’t going to answer but Clara remained silent, waiting expectantly. “Someone I used to know,” he said finally.

“Was she a companion too?”

The Doctor acted like he hadn’t heard her. “If you don’t like centurions, why are we here?”

Clara decided to let the matter drop for now. “You know, you can come to Rome even if you don’t care about Ancient Rome.” After a moment, she continued, “I never really cared about Rome but it was in the book.”

The gleam in the Doctor’s eyes was far too knowing for her taste. She grabbed his hand. “Come on, chin boy. Let’s go look at art.”


	6. The Taj Mahal

“Tell me a story,” Clara requested.

For a moment, the Doctor pondered her request. Then he began, “Once upon a time, a traveling prince fell in love with a beautiful princess. He told all he met about his love for the princess. When he returned home, he told his father of his intention to marry her. Five years later, his words came true and the young prince and the beautiful princess were married.”

As he spoke, he began flipping switches on the console. The familiar shuddering and wheezing echoed through the room. Clara looked at him curiously, wondering where they were going.

“He had many wives but she was his favorite. He called her the Jewel of the Palace. She accompanied him everywhere he went. They were very happy for many years. But then, during the birth of their fourteenth child, there were complications and she died. Stricken by grief, the young prince swore to never remarry and to build her the richest memorial to her. Twenty-two years later, her memorial stood as a tribute to the Jewel of the Palace. When the prince died, he was buried beside her. Centuries later, their monument stands as a testament to their love.”

The TARDIS stood still in the silence that rang out after the story. Again, Clara wondered where they had landed.

“That’s beautiful,” she said softly. “What planet is it on?”

The Doctor crossed to the door and flung it open. “Yours,” he said. “Clara Oswald, that is the story of the Taj Mahal.”


	7. Singapore

“What’s in Singapore?” the Doctor asked curiously, peering at the stars covering the page.

“A night safari,” Clara said. She looked up from the table where she sat grading papers. “I always meant to go there first but life had different plans.”

“That explains the stars.” He was quiet for a moment, flipping between that page and the next. “What do you see on a night safari?”

Clara shrugged. “According to the website, a lot. Hyenas, lions, bears, giraffes, elephants.”

“Let’s go.”

Clara was startled. She hadn’t expected that he would agree so quickly. After all, he didn’t really seem like the type to enjoy safaris. Still, she was gratified. It was the place she was most excited to visit.

“Thanks,” she said cheerfully. “I just need to finish grading first.”

“Clara, I have a time machine. You can finish it later.”


	8. The Great Wall of China

“Want to walk it?”

Clara looked at him like he was crazy. “All 13,000 miles of it? You must be joking.”

“It’s just the Great Wall of China.”

Just the Great Wall, she thought. Like that’s no big deal. “Can’t we just stand here and look at the view?” she suggested.

“But how are you going to see all of the view if you stay here?” Like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“I don’t need to see all of it. Just this part.”

Pouting, the Doctor muttered, “We never get to have any fun”

Another couple nearby was murmuring softly and Clara frowned. She could have sworn she’d just heard the words “spaceship” and “Jupiter.” She turned to the Doctor who was still muttering mutinously.

“We might still have fun,” she told him.


	9. Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

“So the Kathmandu Valley?”

Clara nodded eagerly. “It sounds amazing. Did you know that there are seven World Heritage Sites in the valley?”

“Know?” he muttered. “I was there at the dedication.”

Clara didn’t seem to catch his mutterings as she reread the page in her book. “It says here that, according to folklore, the valley used to be a lake. Then there was this Buddhist saint, Manjushree, who was passing by and saw this beautiful lotus flower in the lake. He devoted himself to holding the flower so he could worship it. So he cut the Chobar Hill, which let the water drain out, and it became land for human settlement.”

The Doctor glanced at her fondly as he said, “Sounds like you want to stay there longer than a few hours.”

“Could we?” Clara asked eagerly. “Do you do that? Stop at places for a while?”

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I?”

Clara shrugged. “You always seem to be in such a hurry. Always running.”

“I don’t have to run. I can stop if you want to.”

Clara wondered if there was a deeper meaning to his words but she shrugged his comment off. “That’d be nice,” she said softly.

“Then we’ll stay as long as you like.”


	10. Lake Toba, Indonesia

“A supervolcano,” the Doctor stated flatly.

“No,” Clara corrected. “The lake next to the supervolcano.”

“Do you have any idea how terrible an idea it is to visit a supervolcano?”

“Only an active one. Please, Doctor. Lake Toba’s on the list,” she wheedled. “And it’s the largest volcanic lake in the world.”

He groaned, already beginning to spin the dials. He had the strangest feeling he was going to regret this but he was never able to say no to his Impossible Girl. She had a way of making him feel like she was doing him a favor even though it was her request.

“Did you know that Lake Toba is located in a caldera?” Clara read from her book as they traveled.

“Do you even know what a caldera is?” the Doctor called from the other side of the console.

“Of course I do,” Clara replied, slightly offended. “Just because I’m a glorified babysitter, it doesn’t I don’t know anything.”

In a rare moment, the TARDIS fell completely silent. In the quiet, the Doctor said, “I never said you were.”

“Then don’t ask questions like ‘do you even know…’ I don’t like it.”

“My apologies,” he said, ducking his head.

“No worries,” Clara said, already shrugging off the incident. “Just don’t do it again.”

“Note taken. Now, do you want to see this lake or not?”


End file.
